Page 185 of Broken
There it is. She wants this.
And so do I.
On the way out, he picked Ethan up and put his arm around Jacqueline.
“Youarea great mom,” he said.
Her loving smile said it all.
As Prescott expected, mayhem ensued between boy and dog as soon as they got home.
“I never imagined this, but now I can’t picture anythingbutthis,” she said. “I love this noise, the screaming, and the barking.” She laughed. “They are pure energy feeding off each other.”
He pulled her into his arms and bathed her in several doting kisses. “I adore you, Jacqueline Hartley, so fucking much.”
“Lucky for you, I adore you back.”
Later that evening, Ethan had fallen asleep on the family room floor in a sleeping bag, an equally exhausted Loki conked out at his feet. Jack curled up on the sofa and patted the seat cushion next to her.
Instead of sitting beside her, Prescott sat on the opposite end. “How ‘bout I give my amazing woman a foot rub?”
She placed her bare foot in his lap. “I’m at your mercy.”
As he started massaging her soft skin, he said, “I’ve got a problem at work. Another cluster fuck, courtesy of my uncle.”
“What’s going on?”
“My uncle hired your sister as a marketing consultant to rebrand a skincare line.”
She chuffed out a laugh. Prescott did not.
Her eyebrows crowded her forehead. “You’re joking, right?”
“No, I’m not. Her company is TopCon.”
“Leslie doesn’t know the first thing about rebranding.” She curled up beside him and showed him a photo of her and Leslie from a year ago. “My sister had gorgeous brown hair with beautiful chestnut highlights. She had a great figure too. Look how pretty she was.”
“She doesn’t look anything like that, now,” he said. “Wow, look at you. You’re a knock-out.”
She kissed him. “Thank you, babe.” She set her phone down. “I think the only one she’sconningis your uncle.”
“No, she isn’t. He knowsexactlywhat he’s doing.”
“Which is what, besides banging my sister?”
“Paying her for sex and disguising it as consulting services.”
“That’s not good.” She resumed her spot on the other side of the sofa and laid her foot in his lap. “Last month, I was having dinner with Addison at Carole Jean’s and saw her with your uncle, only I didn’t know who he was. They looked pretty cozy. He gave her a diamond necklace.”
“He’s married.”
“Okay, well, that means different things to different people. Maybe they’re separated. Maybe they’re married on-paper only. Just to be clear, I’mnotsiding with my sister. I’m just pointing out that your idea of marriage might not be theirs.”
“I love that you give people the benefit of the doubt,” he said while massaging her heel. “What’syouridea of marriage?”
“If the right man came along, I’d get married, but it has to be the right man because I’m getting married once. Just once. Hey, do you know anyone you can introduce me to?”
He squeezed her foot.
